Shatrughan Sinha is a member of the Trinamool Congress. (File)
Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Monday said he would love to see West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the next Prime Minister of the country.
Mr Sinha, who is a member of the Trinamool Congress, headed by Ms Banerjee, made the statement in response to a query as to how he saw Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a prospective Prime Ministerial candidate.
"It would be very good for the country that at a time when we also have a woman as the President, we had a woman as the Prime Minister too. A firebrand leader like Mamata Banerjee, who has a mass base, would fit the bill," he told PTI in an interview.
Mr Sinha, who represents Asansol in the Lok Sabha, however, hastened to add "who would be the Prime Minister is a decision that would be taken at an appropriate time. My point is to underscore that we, in INDIA, have no dearth of talent."
"We have youth icon Rahul Gandhi, in whom the nation sees its future. We have the modern day Chanakya - Sharad Pawar. And of course, we have firebrand mass leader Mamata Banerjee. In contrast, the BJP-led NDA has none except Prime Minister Narendra Modi," asserted the actor-turned-politician.
Mr Sinha, who quit the BJP four years ago and remained with the Congress for a brief period before joining the Trinamool, also asserted, "It does not behove the Prime Minister to mock our alliance with the use of terms like 'ghamandia' (proud)."
"He speaks of issues like corruption and nepotism to criticize the opposition coalition. As a former NDA insider, I wager that the BJP and its allies are second to none when it comes to nepotism. And their stand on corruption got exposed when they allied with those accused of corruption in Maharashtra by the PM," said Mr Sinha.
On the flying kiss controversy, Mr Sinha said he was surprised at the allegation levelled against Rahul Gandhi by Union minister Smriti Irani "who respects me a lot as a senior in the acting profession, though unlike me, she never made it to films and remained confined to TV serials."
"I too was present in the House at the time. No such gesture was made. I wonder why Irani, who has matured over the years, made such an allegation," said the superstar of yesteryears, adding, with a hint of mischief, the Urdu couplet "kuchh tho majbooriyan rahi hongi, yunhi koi bewafa nahin hota (there must have been some pressing compulsions, one does not become unfaithful just like that)".
The former Patna Sahib MP, who represented the seat covering his home town for two consecutive terms, until losing it in 2019, asserted that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav were "absolutely right" in taking exception to PM Modi's claim that a new AIIMS has been set up in Darbhanga.
He also deplored PM Modi's 'khooni khel' (game of blood) jibe at Ms Banerjee claiming it "betrayed the frustration over the thrashing received by the BJP in Panchayat polls, which saw the TMC registering a record win".
"We adore Mamata Banerjee and call him didi (sister). What an ugly thing to say about her at a time when the country is gearing up for Raksha Bandhan festivities," Mr Sinha added with a rhetorical flourish.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)